


The Berlin Wall

by Arctic_comet



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Child abuse because Lonnie is a dick, Family Hell, Friendship, Gen, Jancy as kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-04 08:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12767013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arctic_comet/pseuds/Arctic_comet
Summary: Forced by his mother, Jonathan attends Nancy's 8th birthday party and things don't go as planned.





	The Berlin Wall

”Here you go, I hope you can come,” Nancy said, offering him a yellow envelope with his name on it. The handwriting was the same as on the invitation Will had brought home from kindergarten a few months ago. Nancy's brother Mike was his brother's best friend, and Will had been so happy to go to his party. 

“Thanks,” he replied. He never got invited to birthday parties, but now Nancy was inviting the whole class, so he figured she _had_ to invite him, too.

Nancy Wheeler was nice (or as nice as anyone in his class was to him), but he didn’t like going to birthday parties. He always gave the worst presents and wanted to leave before the cake had even been eaten. The thought of having to go to Nancy’s party made his stomach hurt. If he didn’t show the invitation to his mom, maybe he wouldn’t have to go. So he buried it under his school books and said nothing to his mom.

Unfortunately Nancy’s mom called his the night before the party.

“Jonathan, did you get an invitation to Nancy’s birthday party?” she asked after ending the phone call.

He knew lying was wrong, so he stayed silent, staring at his socked feet.

“Oh, Jonathan… Where is it, honey?” his mom asked gently.

He picked up his schoolbag and dug out the now crumpled envelope.

“I don’t want to go,” he admitted, as his mom's eyes scanned the card.

“I know it can be scary with so many people, but you’ll be okay. The Wheelers are nice people, and you know how much Will loves Nancy’s brother. We’ll go out tomorrow morning and pick out a present before the party.”

***

"Here we go. Don't you look handsome?" gushed his mom later that night, turning him to face the mirror in her bedroom. His grandma had sent over a shirt and a dark blue sweater for his birthday, and this was the first time he'd get to wear them. 

Jonathan smiled at his mom. He didn't feel ridiculous wearing these. 

It was after 9 PM and Will was already asleep in his room, while Jonathan was allowed to watch videos for another hour. Curled up beside his mom on the couch, he was half asleep, but happy. However, that changed as soon as he heard heavy footsteps from the porch. Dad was home, and it never meant anything good.

When Jonathan noticed Will's crayons lying on the floor, it was already too late. Dad was inside, stumbling over anything and everything possible he could, as he often did. He cringed when his dad's foot came into contact with the crayons and he let out an angry howl.

"Who the hell left these here?" he bellowed, now stomping on the floor to smash the crayons. Now the floor really was a mess. Angrily, his dad reached for the nearest possible thing to use to wipe it, and Jonathan watched in horror as the shirt he was supposed to wear for Nancy's birthday party ended up underneath his dad's feet, with mixed colors all over it.

"Lonnie, calm down, I'll get them off the floor," replied his mother, getting to her feet. 

"I asked a question and I damned well expect an answer. Jonathan?" 

Dad would drag Will out of bed, make him clean the floor and do worse things if he told the truth, so he lied.

"They're mine," he said quietly.

"Jonathan, go to your room," hissed his mother. He knew that tone. She wasn't angry, but scared. _Really really_ scared.

"He's not going anywhere until he cleans this mess. Get over here, boy," demanded his dad.

"Lonnie-"

"Shut up, Joyce. He needs to be taught a lesson."

"He needs to go to bed!"

Jonathan wanted nothing more than for his parents to stop shouting. They'd wake up Will. So he got off the couch and walked over to his dad, his legs shaking with every step. His dad shoved him down to the floor, grabbing him by the hair.

"Children. Do. Not. Leave. Their. Things. On. The. Floor. In. This. House. Do you understand me, Jonathan?" he asked, bending down to his ear. His breath smelled awful, just like it always did after he'd spent the night at the bar. 

"Yes," he answered weakly.

"I didn't hear you."

"YES!" he screamed, wishing he was big enough to push his dad away, make him leave him alone. Make him leave them _all_ alone.

***

“Joyce, great to see you! Hi there, Jonathan! We’re so glad you could make it, come on in!” greeted Nancy's mom. 

“I’ll come and get you at 6:30, okay?” his mom said, giving him a reassuring smile.

He nodded at his mom. 6:30. He’d count down the minutes.

“Have fun, honey.” 

He wasn't sure if he knew how to do that. Watching other kids play party games like pin the tail on the donkey was all right, but he didn't want to do it himself.  They'd all be watching and he'd probably do something wrong.

With that, his mom was out the door and he was standing in front of Nancy. Right, he should give her the present.

“Happy birthday,” he mumbled.

“Thanks, Jonathan. I’ll open this later,” she said, taking the box from him. He raised his head enough to see her place his present on a table in the corner. As usual, his was the smallest box in the pile.

***

His entire class was there, as were some other kids from their school. Most of them ignored him, but he saw some of the boys standing in a corner, pointing and laughing at him. You never knew what their problem was, and this time was no exception. Maybe it was the too-large dress shirt that he’d gotten from his cousin that he was wearing, now that his own shirt was in the wash and his mom wasn't sure she'd ever be able to get all the color off. Maybe it was how he was so much shorter than the other boys in his class. His mom always insisted that he'd grow eventually, that he just needed more time than others because he was special, but he wasn't so sure about that. 

Mrs. Wheeler cut a piece of the cake and handed it over to him with a smile, giving him a pat on the shoulder before turning to the next guest in line.

He really should’ve been more aware of the people around him, but he just didn’t see the extended leg right in front of him and tripped. Letting out a yelp, he desperately tried to hold onto the paper plate, but failed.

The cake landed on the carpet, and Jonathan wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole, or that he'd somehow turn invisible. Unfortunately, those things only happened in books and on TV. _Everyone_ was laughing; Tommy's laugh was the loudest as he stood next to Steve, who was grinning. Jonathan knew it was Steve's leg he'd tripped on. 

Actually not everyone was laughing: Nancy wasn't, and neither was her red-haired friend Barbara. Or Nancy's mom, who only now realized what had occurred.

"Oops," said Mike, staring at the cake now staining their living room carpet.

His nails bit into his palms, leaving angry crescents in their wake. Maybe he wasn't big or strong enough to fight his dad, but Steve wasn't that much bigger than him, and only a year older. Before he could attack Steve, Jonathan sensed Nancy's mom leaning over him and his hands flew to protect his head automatically. His dad would've had him by the hair for something like this, and his scalp was still sore from last night. The beating would’ve come next. But Nancy's mom only laid a hand on his back.

The words he knew he should be saying got caught in his throat. _I'm so sorry, Mrs. Wheeler. I'm sorry, I'm sorry._

"It's all right, sweetheart, I'll have that cleaned right up. You go and sit on the couch next to Barb," she told him, even offering him a smile before leaving the room, followed by Nancy.

There was an empty spot beside Barbara, but hot tears were burning behind his eyes and he couldn’t stay in the room for another second, or someone might see him crying.

Jonathan wanted to go home, but as he stood at the front door, he realized it'd make his mom upset, and he didn't want that. So, he started opening doors at random, until he found stairs.  _A basement._ It would be a good place to hide until his mom came to get him.

After descending the steps, he settled into the far back corner, against the wall and sighed. Nobody would laugh at him there. They wouldn’t even _know_ he was there. He wished they had a basement like that. A place to be alone. A place to hide.

***

Jonathan jumped in surprise as the door above him suddenly opened and the lights were turned on. Nancy was standing on the topmost step, a plate in her hands.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey.”

“Can I come down there?”

He shrugged.

“It’s your house.”

She placed the plate in front of him on the floor. A large piece of her birthday cake lay on it. He looked at her in surprise.

“You didn’t get any cake,” she explained.

“It’s fine.”

“No, you should eat it. It’s really good. My mom made it herself. I helped," she said, smiling at him proudly.

Carefully, he picked up the spoon and scooped some of the cake into his mouth. Chocolate and banana.

“This is really good,” he admitted.

She beamed at him in response.

"I'm sorry for ruining your party," he said.

Nancy frowned.

“My party's not ruined. You don’t have to hide here, my mom’s not mad at you either.”

He stayed silent. It wasn’t just Nancy’s mom he didn’t want to face.

“How did you know I was here?” he asked instead.

“Barb saw you come in here.”

“Oh.”

“I liked your present,” she said softly, twisting the blue and yellow plastic bracelet around on her wrist.

He nodded. Nancy wasn’t a liar, but she was probably exaggerating just to be nice. He didn’t go to birthday parties often, but he knew their presents were never the best ones. They never had enough money for that.

“Did you pick it out, or was it your mom?”

“It-it was me.”

“Cool.”

“You should go back upstairs.”

“You don’t want to come?”

“No, I want to stay here… If that’s okay.”

“Sure.”

He watched as she climbed the steps and turned to look at him for one last time.

It was on days like this when the wall between him and everyone else, including her, got its foundations. Eight years later it would be as high as the Berlin Wall and crossing it just as dangerous and difficult, but some obstacles were made to be overcome.


End file.
